Saturday, March 22, 2008

And the Walls Came Tumbling Down

Jericho was one of those shows that seemed to gain momentum as the season progressed. The season one premiere left me feeling that Jericho had a great concept, and the potential to be really good or it go the opposite direction and become a "new romance / save one of the townsfolk" of the week dramas. Instead it became a compelling vision of life in a small town cut off from the rest of the country after the US was the victim of multiple nuclear attacks. Increasingly, I found myself anticipating each new episode. I was sad to learn that Jericho was cancelled at the end of the first season.

Of course we're all aware that Jericho was saved by a massive fan base and brought back for an abbreviated season two. Unfortunately, season two got off to a slow start. There was a new focus -- instead of being about how the folks of Jericho were going to survive life after nuclear attacks, the show took a broader canvas and became about how the country would survive a potential overthrow from within. The change was jarring, but for those of us who stayed with Jericho, we were treated to a show that had the potential to be even better than the first season. I was diggin' the direction of the show and again looking forward to each new episode.

Unfortunately, Jericho has been cancelled yet again. One thing I've learned from the show and it's fan base, is it ain't over until it's over. Hopefully Jericho will find new life on a different network [perhaps the SCIFI channel?] and the story will continue to unfold. If so, I'll be coming along for the ride.

3 comments:

Dang it, man! Not again! That must mean tonight is the final night. How in the halibut are they gonna wrap everything up in one night? I heard there were two separate endings filmed for however the decision went whether to cancel or not. I was really diggin' the second season a lot.

They should have kept Gerald McRaney around. Too many series seem to have the same cast, same age, same problems (generally). I swear that kid who played Superman in that last Superman film looks like every 20-something dark-haired male star in practically every major network series. Remember when television had characters that looked different, acted different and were interesting? McRaney helped 'Jericho' with that.